Korallin Calcium Reactor
- Thread starter JohnL
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jdieck
New member
You might need to make slight adjustments but wait until your testing shows the response of the alkalinity level.
Larger size media gives you less surface area but on the other hnad allows more recirculation flow, the net effect could be zero or end up either way (higher or lower) depending on the reactor itself.
Haksar
New member
Hello All,
I am may have to join the HALL of FAME because of the longvityof this thread. I set up a 1502 reactor 48hrs back with a 10BPM/40DPM rate.My tank alk is 7 and consistent and PH hovers around 7.8 -8.00 morning /night time.My effluent ph is set at 6.7 on the controller and alk is at 25KH.Question is the first two days when the effluent ph dropped to below 6.7 my controller went off but today its been consistent at the rate of 6.7 and not dropping inspite of BPM and DPM being same.My controller is still working and pumping C02.Should I leave as it is or increase my C02 BPM without increasing the DPM.Tanks is a 5ft mainly with Zoas and Mush.Calcium is 360 only.
Please advise.
I am may have to join the HALL of FAME because of the longvityof this thread. I set up a 1502 reactor 48hrs back with a 10BPM/40DPM rate.My tank alk is 7 and consistent and PH hovers around 7.8 -8.00 morning /night time.My effluent ph is set at 6.7 on the controller and alk is at 25KH.Question is the first two days when the effluent ph dropped to below 6.7 my controller went off but today its been consistent at the rate of 6.7 and not dropping inspite of BPM and DPM being same.My controller is still working and pumping C02.Should I leave as it is or increase my C02 BPM without increasing the DPM.Tanks is a 5ft mainly with Zoas and Mush.Calcium is 360 only.
Please advise.
anothermineral
Member
Haksar,
It's doubtful that you'll be able to raise the calc level to above 400 with the 1502 alone from the level you're at (although with a Zoa/Shroom dominated tank, you're probably alright where you are). If you are interested in raising your calcium level, I would recommend using calcium chloride to raise the calc to the level you want it and then have the calc reactor maintain it at this level.
I'm not sure I completely understand your question regarding your effluent PH. Are you concerned that your controller may not be functioning properly? Or are you looking for recommendations on increasing output on the reactor?
As a FYI, I run my effluent PH b/t 6.5-6.6 in a 300G SPS dominated system. I find that the reactor does a good job at maintaining my calc. My tank PH runs b/t 8.1-8.25.
It's doubtful that you'll be able to raise the calc level to above 400 with the 1502 alone from the level you're at (although with a Zoa/Shroom dominated tank, you're probably alright where you are). If you are interested in raising your calcium level, I would recommend using calcium chloride to raise the calc to the level you want it and then have the calc reactor maintain it at this level.
I'm not sure I completely understand your question regarding your effluent PH. Are you concerned that your controller may not be functioning properly? Or are you looking for recommendations on increasing output on the reactor?
As a FYI, I run my effluent PH b/t 6.5-6.6 in a 300G SPS dominated system. I find that the reactor does a good job at maintaining my calc. My tank PH runs b/t 8.1-8.25.
jdieck
New member
By your description, your alkalnity is being maintained so lowering the PH is not necessary and the way it is working is desirable as you do not want the controller to be opening and closing frequently but instead only use it as a safety shut off if the PH drops too far.
In addition if you increase the CO2 rate the PH in the tank will lower further something you do not want at the level you are operationg.
As recomended by anothermineral, adjust your alkalinity and calcium with manual supplementation of baked baking soda and calcium chloride and the reactor will maintain the new levels.
Use the chemistry calculator to determine the amounts to use:
http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chem_calc3.html
Haksar
New member
Thanks jdieck and anothermineral.
My controller is working perfectly with set range of Ph 6.7.The controller shuts off C02 at ph 6.5 and switches on at Ph 6.7.The only concern was with the same BPM/DPM ratio the controller was not switching off.However today with out much change to the ratio the controller did switch off.So far I am happy with the set up with the exception of my Eheim pump which is making a crackiling noise.How can I get rid of it.
I will manually add Calcium and also Mag since its only 900ppm.
My controller is working perfectly with set range of Ph 6.7.The controller shuts off C02 at ph 6.5 and switches on at Ph 6.7.The only concern was with the same BPM/DPM ratio the controller was not switching off.However today with out much change to the ratio the controller did switch off.So far I am happy with the set up with the exception of my Eheim pump which is making a crackiling noise.How can I get rid of it.
I will manually add Calcium and also Mag since its only 900ppm.
jdieck
New member
You will need to inspect the pump for the posibility of some grains of media flowing into the impeller casing.
Careful when disassembling the pump as the tabs that suport the front housing can break easy. Use a little silicone grease to lubricate the front plate O ring before putting it back.
Haksar
New member
Hello All,
Would like to ask in how many days you Co2 cylinder empties.I have a 10lbs cylinder and same gets exhausted in 20days.Is this normal.My bpm/dpm- 20/40 and tank alk is 8-9.Checked my regulator and valves but has not found any leaks.
My Cal is 390ppm and Mg is 800 ppm.Not too good I know.
I don't want to keep changing cylinder like this.
Regards,
Haksar
Would like to ask in how many days you Co2 cylinder empties.I have a 10lbs cylinder and same gets exhausted in 20days.Is this normal.My bpm/dpm- 20/40 and tank alk is 8-9.Checked my regulator and valves but has not found any leaks.
My Cal is 390ppm and Mg is 800 ppm.Not too good I know.
I don't want to keep changing cylinder like this.
Regards,
Haksar
Haksar
New member
Hello All,
Would like to ask in how many days your tank's Co2 cylinder empties.I have a 10lbs cylinder and same gets exhausted in 20days.Is this normal.My bpm/dpm- 20/40 and tank alk is 8-9.Checked my regulator and valves but has not found any leaks.
My Cal is 390ppm and Mg is 800 ppm.Not too good I know.
I don't want to keep changing cylinder like this.
Regards,
Haksar
Would like to ask in how many days your tank's Co2 cylinder empties.I have a 10lbs cylinder and same gets exhausted in 20days.Is this normal.My bpm/dpm- 20/40 and tank alk is 8-9.Checked my regulator and valves but has not found any leaks.
My Cal is 390ppm and Mg is 800 ppm.Not too good I know.
I don't want to keep changing cylinder like this.
Regards,
Haksar
glalderman
New member
I would bubble leak test everything...I just sold a model 3002 that I have had running 14 months on the same 5lb bottle of CO2...I have my controller set to turn on CO2 at 6.6ph and turn off CO2 at 6.5ph...when on my bubble count was only 10 bubbles per minute...
Now...I have not looked at this thread for probably about a year...so if something has changed with set up or new Korallin Reactors...please excuse this post...but 20 days on a 10lb bottle can't be right...has to be a leak somewhere...
Bubble leak test can be done with just some dish soap and water...put in a little bottle or gently spread on all fittings, gages, etc...if you get bubbles...that is where your leak is...I have feeling you will not have to worry about being able to see the bubbles...you probably have a pretty good leak somewhere and it will show up very clearly....
Now...I have not looked at this thread for probably about a year...so if something has changed with set up or new Korallin Reactors...please excuse this post...but 20 days on a 10lb bottle can't be right...has to be a leak somewhere...
Bubble leak test can be done with just some dish soap and water...put in a little bottle or gently spread on all fittings, gages, etc...if you get bubbles...that is where your leak is...I have feeling you will not have to worry about being able to see the bubbles...you probably have a pretty good leak somewhere and it will show up very clearly....
jdieck
New member
As glalderman describe at only 20 bpm 10 pounds will last you way longer than a two years and may be even three.
Follow his recommendation for leak testing using the dish soap and water (Not dishwasher soap but the one for hand washing dishes).
My best guess is that you may find a leak either at the point were the regulator conects to the cylinder (every time a cylinder is replaced a new packing is required there) or another posibility belive it or not could be the tubing (Silicone tubing leacks trough the walls) or at the back of the gauges.
If you find no leaks, the other posibility is that the cylinder has not been fully filled. CO2 cylinders have to be filled by weight and I have found some places do not and just try to transfer the liquid by pressure and if this process is not done correctly the cylinder can be either way underfilled or even worst, over filled with the risk of blowing the safety.
To know how much CO2 is in the cylinder you can weight it using a bath scale and deduct the tare weight of the cylinder that is stamped around the neck of the cylinder with the letters TW.
You can also wight the cylinder once empty and then weight it again after filling and see what the difference is.
Follow his recommendation for leak testing using the dish soap and water (Not dishwasher soap but the one for hand washing dishes).
My best guess is that you may find a leak either at the point were the regulator conects to the cylinder (every time a cylinder is replaced a new packing is required there) or another posibility belive it or not could be the tubing (Silicone tubing leacks trough the walls) or at the back of the gauges.
If you find no leaks, the other posibility is that the cylinder has not been fully filled. CO2 cylinders have to be filled by weight and I have found some places do not and just try to transfer the liquid by pressure and if this process is not done correctly the cylinder can be either way underfilled or even worst, over filled with the risk of blowing the safety.
To know how much CO2 is in the cylinder you can weight it using a bath scale and deduct the tare weight of the cylinder that is stamped around the neck of the cylinder with the letters TW.
You can also wight the cylinder once empty and then weight it again after filling and see what the difference is.
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Haksar
New member
The weighing is done in front of me,so don't see any issue in that.I will check out the back of the gauges ans silicon tubing in fact the tubing is special Co2 tubing used by industrial gas users for Co2.This I bought to avoid the leaks.
How many days does it take for PH controller to turn on once the ph level reaches the set level is it switching on and off every time or is it after few day.Mine takes about a day and a half for the controller to switch off which is 6.5 and turns on 6.7 after another day.
Is this correct..
How many days does it take for PH controller to turn on once the ph level reaches the set level is it switching on and off every time or is it after few day.Mine takes about a day and a half for the controller to switch off which is 6.5 and turns on 6.7 after another day.
Is this correct..
jdieck
New member
Then the tubing shall be no issue.
On the controller, depending on how close the addition of CO2 is to the point at which the PH is being controlled.
Say if without a controller the amount of CO2 added will drop the PH to 6.1 or 6.2 then shutting off will be very quick as the PH will fall very fast from 6.7 to 6.5. Similarly, if without controller, the CO2 rate will drop the PH to only 6.6 then the controller will stay ON forever as the PH will not drop enough to reach the 6.5
In general a well adjusted CO2 rate will make the PH drop very slowly from the ON to the OFF point to reduce the wear on the solenoid and if it fails to close the PH will not keep on dropping way below the OFF point.
Now that is from ON to OFF. Once the controller is OFF it will not take long to turn on again because of the media dissolving (Which increase PH) and because you are adding water at the main tank PH in the 8's range to the reactor, that addition shall make the PH in the reactor rise relatively fast.
Having said that, there might be a couple of situations that may delay the PH rising fast:
+ If there is a lot of CO2 bubbles already accumulated in the reactor chamber which will take time to be consumed before the PH starts to rise.
+ If the effluent flow is very low so the addition of 8 or so PH water is very slow. In your case at 40 dpm (about 2 ml/min) which is low, this might be the case.
In any case the time it takes from OFF to ON in general should be faster than the time from ON to OFF
dhodorow
New member
CO2 consumption
CO2 consumption
I have a Korallin C-1502 on my 180gal. which I use in conjunction with a kalkwasser reactor. I have a 10lb. tank and I go through one per year. Make sure that when you replace the bottles and double check all of the tubing for leaks that you also replace the little plastic washer between the bottle and the regulator. Maybe not getting a perfect seal there. The plastic washers cost about 60cents at my local gas dealer.
Hope this helps.
Dave
CO2 consumption
I have a Korallin C-1502 on my 180gal. which I use in conjunction with a kalkwasser reactor. I have a 10lb. tank and I go through one per year. Make sure that when you replace the bottles and double check all of the tubing for leaks that you also replace the little plastic washer between the bottle and the regulator. Maybe not getting a perfect seal there. The plastic washers cost about 60cents at my local gas dealer.
Hope this helps.
Dave
Haksar
New member
Now my setting is Ph 6.7 to turn on and PH 6.5 to turn off.Shall I increase the turn off to PH 6.4.Will this make a difference or the other way round.Which is Ph 6.8 on and Ph 6.6 off.
I think there is lot of c02 bubbles in the chamber may be that;s why the controller take a bit of time to turn on.Neverthess it take a lot time to turn off also.Should I increase the effluent flow rate to 60 DPM and increase the BPM to 40 also.
My ph in tank is 8 during day time and 7.80 during night time.
I think there is lot of c02 bubbles in the chamber may be that;s why the controller take a bit of time to turn on.Neverthess it take a lot time to turn off also.Should I increase the effluent flow rate to 60 DPM and increase the BPM to 40 also.
My ph in tank is 8 during day time and 7.80 during night time.
jdieck
New member
The level and ratio of effluent flow and CO2 are adjusted so the alkalinity in your tank is maintained so you need to track the main tank alkalinity to find out if the levels are correct. If the alkalinity is dropping over a couple of days then you need to increase the alkalinity provided by the reactor and viceversa.
Lowering the reactor PH (increasing CO2 rate) or increasing the effluent flow and increasing the CO2 rate will increase the alkalinity provided by the reactor and viceversa.
I need some more info:
a) What is your latest tank alkalinity?
b) What is your latest calcium level?
c) Which controller are you using?
d) Which media are you using?
e) What is the total water volume in your system?
f) Is your main tank fish only, mostly softies or sps loaded?
g) What is your effluent flow in mililiters per minute? Use a small measuring cup and a watch that measure seconds. Capture the effluent into the measuring cup for one minute and read the volume.
h) Regardless of the controller set points, what is the PH of the effluent?
i) The Korallin has two lines that can be used as effluent. Which effluent line are you using, the one that comes out of the top of the reaction chamber or the one coming out of the pump piping?
j) Have you noticed if the recirculation pump (Eheim) looses priming or stops pumping because rund out of water at the inlet due to CO2 accumulation?
If you have not, please review this article:
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-05/sh/feature/index.php
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Haksar
New member
Thanks,your answers below
1)Tank alk - 8 - measured 01 hr back
2)Cal level - 370ppm
3)Milwaukee controller
4)ARM media small granules
5)100 gallon tank + SUMP - 138 gallons
6)3 fish (foxface/chromis/six line wrasse) and 01 SPS and rest soft corals/LPS corals.Not heavily loaded.
7)DPM - 6ml per minute
8)ph is 6.5 of the effluent no at controller is off.In fact controller is since 48hrs.Yesterday Ph was 6.4.
9)Using line from the top of the chamber,the other one is 1 DPM.
10)Couple of times the pump lost priming due to air but was sorted by releasing air from both effluent lines.
Appreciate your assistance.
1)Tank alk - 8 - measured 01 hr back
2)Cal level - 370ppm
3)Milwaukee controller
4)ARM media small granules
5)100 gallon tank + SUMP - 138 gallons
6)3 fish (foxface/chromis/six line wrasse) and 01 SPS and rest soft corals/LPS corals.Not heavily loaded.
7)DPM - 6ml per minute
8)ph is 6.5 of the effluent no at controller is off.In fact controller is since 48hrs.Yesterday Ph was 6.4.
9)Using line from the top of the chamber,the other one is 1 DPM.
10)Couple of times the pump lost priming due to air but was sorted by releasing air from both effluent lines.
Appreciate your assistance.
